Mangala: I would rather join Chelsea than Manchester City

Eliaquim Mangala has dealt a blow to Manchester City's hopes of securing a deal for the £35m-rated Porto defender by claiming he would rather sign for Chelsea.

The France international had been close to moving to the Etihad Stadium in January when City attempted to complete a double move for the 23-year-old centre-half and Brazilian midfielder Fernando.

Manchester United and Paris St Germain have also pursued Mangala, but City had appeared to be favourites to sign the player, despite accepting a £49million fine from Uefa last week for falling foul of Financial Fair Play regulations.

However, in an interview with Bein Sports, Mangala has now admitted that he favours a move to Chelsea because he would rather play in London.

"City or Chelsea? Chelsea because it is London,” Mangala said, when asked which club he would prefer to play for.

"It is true that I love the Premier League because it is a spectacular championship. In January, there were discussions with City, but it fell through because the two clubs could not reach an agreement.

"Every player wants to play in the biggest clubs. I am an ambitious player and the team that can help me win titles is the one that interests me."

With Mangala now preparing for the World Cup after being named in Didier Deschamps’ France squad, he has insisted that he will put his club future on hold until after the tournament in Brazil.

"My goal now is the World Cup,” Mangala said. “We will see what happens after that. I told Jorge Mendes [his agent] that I don't want to know anything about the transfer window until then.”

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Arsenal: Summer move for striker likely

Arsenal may have to wait until the summer to sign long-time target Jackson Martinez, it has emerged.

The Colombian international is one of the most in-demand talents in Europe at the moment, having caught the eye with 49 goals in his last 65 appearances for Porto, attracting interest from the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool in recent times.

However, Arsenal and other clubs seem unlikely to land him this month, as SportsDirect News understands that Porto are determined to hold off until the summer before accepting any bids for their star player.

The Portuguese giants have a history of selling their big names, though they have done well to hold on to Martinez so far, as well as promising young defender Eliaquim Mangala.

It remains to be seen if Arsenal will still be in for Martinez at the end of the season, as they look likely to enter the market for new attacking players in this transfer window, with injuries to Olivier Giroud, Nicklas Bendtner and particularly Theo Walcott leaving them well short upfront.

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